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<a name="Negative-Type-Numbers"></a>
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<a name="Negative-Type-Numbers-1"></a>
<h4 class="subsection">5.1.3 Negative Type Numbers</h4>

<p>This is the method used in XCOFF for defining builtin types.
Since the debugger knows about the builtin types anyway, the idea of
negative type numbers is simply to give a special type number which
indicates the builtin type.  There is no stab defining these types.
</p>
<p>There are several subtle issues with negative type numbers.
</p>
<p>One is the size of the type.  A builtin type (for example the C types
<code>int</code> or <code>long</code>) might have different sizes depending on
compiler options, the target architecture, the ABI, etc.  This issue
doesn&rsquo;t come up for IBM tools since (so far) they just target the
RS/6000; the sizes indicated below for each size are what the IBM
RS/6000 tools use.  To deal with differing sizes, either define separate
negative type numbers for each size (which works but requires changing
the debugger, and, unless you get both AIX dbx and GDB to accept the
change, introduces an incompatibility), or use a type attribute
(see <a href="String-Field.html#String-Field">String Field</a>) to define a new type with the appropriate size
(which merely requires a debugger which understands type attributes,
like AIX dbx or GDB).  For example,
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example">.stabs &quot;boolean:t10=@s8;-16&quot;,128,0,0,0
</pre></div>

<p>defines an 8-bit boolean type, and
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example">.stabs &quot;boolean:t10=@s64;-16&quot;,128,0,0,0
</pre></div>

<p>defines a 64-bit boolean type.
</p>
<p>A similar issue is the format of the type.  This comes up most often for
floating-point types, which could have various formats (particularly
extended doubles, which vary quite a bit even among IEEE systems).
Again, it is best to define a new negative type number for each
different format; changing the format based on the target system has
various problems.  One such problem is that the Alpha has both VAX and
IEEE floating types.  One can easily imagine one library using the VAX
types and another library in the same executable using the IEEE types.
Another example is that the interpretation of whether a boolean is true
or false can be based on the least significant bit, most significant
bit, whether it is zero, etc., and different compilers (or different
options to the same compiler) might provide different kinds of boolean.
</p>
<p>The last major issue is the names of the types.  The name of a given
type depends <em>only</em> on the negative type number given; these do not
vary depending on the language, the target system, or anything else.
One can always define separate type numbers&mdash;in the following list you
will see for example separate <code>int</code> and <code>integer*4</code> types
which are identical except for the name.  But compatibility can be
maintained by not inventing new negative type numbers and instead just
defining a new type with a new name.  For example:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example">.stabs &quot;CARDINAL:t10=-8&quot;,128,0,0,0
</pre></div>

<p>Here is the list of negative type numbers.  The phrase <em>integral
type</em> is used to mean twos-complement (I strongly suspect that all
machines which use stabs use twos-complement; most machines use
twos-complement these days).
</p>
<dl compact="compact">
<dt><code>-1</code></dt>
<dd><p><code>int</code>, 32 bit signed integral type.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code>-2</code></dt>
<dd><p><code>char</code>, 8 bit type holding a character.   Both GDB and dbx on AIX
treat this as signed.  GCC uses this type whether <code>char</code> is signed
or not, which seems like a bad idea.  The AIX compiler (<code>xlc</code>) seems to
avoid this type; it uses -5 instead for <code>char</code>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code>-3</code></dt>
<dd><p><code>short</code>, 16 bit signed integral type.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code>-4</code></dt>
<dd><p><code>long</code>, 32 bit signed integral type.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code>-5</code></dt>
<dd><p><code>unsigned char</code>, 8 bit unsigned integral type.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code>-6</code></dt>
<dd><p><code>signed char</code>, 8 bit signed integral type.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code>-7</code></dt>
<dd><p><code>unsigned short</code>, 16 bit unsigned integral type.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code>-8</code></dt>
<dd><p><code>unsigned int</code>, 32 bit unsigned integral type.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code>-9</code></dt>
<dd><p><code>unsigned</code>, 32 bit unsigned integral type.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code>-10</code></dt>
<dd><p><code>unsigned long</code>, 32 bit unsigned integral type.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code>-11</code></dt>
<dd><p><code>void</code>, type indicating the lack of a value.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code>-12</code></dt>
<dd><p><code>float</code>, IEEE single precision.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code>-13</code></dt>
<dd><p><code>double</code>, IEEE double precision.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code>-14</code></dt>
<dd><p><code>long double</code>, IEEE double precision.  The compiler claims the size
will increase in a future release, and for binary compatibility you have
to avoid using <code>long double</code>.  I hope when they increase it they
use a new negative type number.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code>-15</code></dt>
<dd><p><code>integer</code>.  32 bit signed integral type.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code>-16</code></dt>
<dd><p><code>boolean</code>.  32 bit type.  GDB and GCC assume that zero is false,
one is true, and other values have unspecified meaning.  I hope this
agrees with how the IBM tools use the type.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code>-17</code></dt>
<dd><p><code>short real</code>.  IEEE single precision.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code>-18</code></dt>
<dd><p><code>real</code>.  IEEE double precision.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code>-19</code></dt>
<dd><p><code>stringptr</code>.  See <a href="Strings.html#Strings">Strings</a>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code>-20</code></dt>
<dd><p><code>character</code>, 8 bit unsigned character type.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code>-21</code></dt>
<dd><p><code>logical*1</code>, 8 bit type.  This Fortran type has a split
personality in that it is used for boolean variables, but can also be
used for unsigned integers.  0 is false, 1 is true, and other values are
non-boolean.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code>-22</code></dt>
<dd><p><code>logical*2</code>, 16 bit type.  This Fortran type has a split
personality in that it is used for boolean variables, but can also be
used for unsigned integers.  0 is false, 1 is true, and other values are
non-boolean.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code>-23</code></dt>
<dd><p><code>logical*4</code>, 32 bit type.  This Fortran type has a split
personality in that it is used for boolean variables, but can also be
used for unsigned integers.  0 is false, 1 is true, and other values are
non-boolean.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code>-24</code></dt>
<dd><p><code>logical</code>, 32 bit type.  This Fortran type has a split
personality in that it is used for boolean variables, but can also be
used for unsigned integers.  0 is false, 1 is true, and other values are
non-boolean.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code>-25</code></dt>
<dd><p><code>complex</code>.  A complex type consisting of two IEEE single-precision
floating point values.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code>-26</code></dt>
<dd><p><code>complex</code>.  A complex type consisting of two IEEE double-precision
floating point values.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code>-27</code></dt>
<dd><p><code>integer*1</code>, 8 bit signed integral type.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code>-28</code></dt>
<dd><p><code>integer*2</code>, 16 bit signed integral type.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code>-29</code></dt>
<dd><p><code>integer*4</code>, 32 bit signed integral type.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code>-30</code></dt>
<dd><p><code>wchar</code>.  Wide character, 16 bits wide, unsigned (what format?
Unicode?).
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code>-31</code></dt>
<dd><p><code>long long</code>, 64 bit signed integral type.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code>-32</code></dt>
<dd><p><code>unsigned long long</code>, 64 bit unsigned integral type.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code>-33</code></dt>
<dd><p><code>logical*8</code>, 64 bit unsigned integral type.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code>-34</code></dt>
<dd><p><code>integer*8</code>, 64 bit signed integral type.
</p></dd>
</dl>

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